This specification relates generally to systems and methods for managing digital assets and creating shareable documents therefrom. More specifically, the specification relates to a platform for creating social media and other documents from digital assets in combination with visual identity compliance, digital asset management, sharing functionality, and/or administration features.
As social media networks such as FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN and TWITTER have grown in popularity, online applications for producing images and other social media assets for such networks have become widely available. Additionally, the need to develop brand-compliant images for websites, intranets, and other corporate communications channels has become widespread.
One exemplary digital media creation application is the CANVA online graphic design platform (available at canva.com), which offers design tools as well as a library of images. This application allows designers to set up a variety of templates in various file formats, including social media posts and a brand kit with a company's logo and color palette.
Another exemplary application is the PABLO social media management tool by Buffer (available at pablo.buffer.com). This application allows marketers and small businesses to create images formatted for social media websites, including TWITTER, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST. The PABLO online image creation tool includes typography, font size, and formatting options. The application allows customers to select one or more social accounts to which content will be posted and further allows customers to schedule social media posts for release throughout the day.
The SNAPPA online graphic design tool (available at snappa.io) is intended for use on social media and ad networks. This application keeps track of image dimensions for various social media platforms and sizes images in accordance with those dimensions. The application allows users to store and edit designs and schedule image posts.
Yet another exemplary application is the PICMONKEY online image editor (available at picmonkey.com). This application allows users to edit and/or create photos, designs, and collages. And such assets may be output to one or more image formats in preset sizes.
These and other similar applications do not fully address the needs of customers wishing to easily create, store, collaborate on, and share brand-compliant corporate communications graphic assets (including those for social media, plasma screen, web parts, emails, posters, banners, brochures etc.) and fail to provide an integrated environment that combines robust visual identity compliance, digital asset management, and digital asset creation tools. For example, the CANVA application offers graphic tools for digital asset creation and allows users to create a brand kit with the customer's company logo and color palette, but does not offer robust visual identity compliance in the form of approved images and approved branded visual identity elements (e.g., logos, footers, taglines, etc.) The PABLO application allows customers to create images formatted for social media websites but does not offer visual identity compliance features. The SNAPPA and PICMONKEY applications likewise allow users to create digital content, but do not support visual identity compliance. Because such applications do not provide an integrated environment for generating digital assets, using these applications can be inefficient, labor-intensive, and expensive.
There is therefore a need in the art for a product that provides an integrated environment directed to the creation and sharing of documents from digital assets, including visual identity compliance and digital asset management.